Wednesday, July 26, 2006

We must all stand-up and be counted and never forget the lessons of history, because much too soon the lessons of man’s inhumanity begins to fade, causing us to revisit the horrors of the past. Much too soon we tend forget the necessity of remaining vigilant over a government with a natural tendency towards corruption. And too soon we forget the horrors of trusting government to do the right thing–it never does. We forget too soon the concentration camps, and the stripping of human civil rights. And much too soon we’ve forgotten the torture and humiliation of innocent people, whose only crime was that of being the wrong race, creed, or color.

Yes, we forget the rampant slaughter of innocent men, women, and children much too soon. And we forget the mass hysteria, the fear of speaking out, and of people being imprisoned without redress, much too soon. We also forget the boots, those ominous boots, which were the last sounds that people heard before being brutally ripped from the lives of those they love, much too soon. Yes, young people, we forget the horror, much too soon.

While these atrocities took place long before your time, it is nevertheless incumbent upon you to make these memories an ever-present part of your collective consciousness, because your parents and grandparents had to pay a bitter price to regain simple freedoms that they had long taken for granted. They had to pay in blood for allowing their government to spin out of control. They paid a bitter price for allowing themselves to be led rather than taking the lead; for allowing themselves to be controlled by hatred rather than compassion, and for allowing themselves to be loyal to men, rather than their sense of justice. An obscure writer of the period wrote the following:

"This stately old vessel limped weakly towards port as the rolling storm began. Voracious vermin gnawed at its rotting hull, destroying it from within. Colors that once flew proud and strong in exotic and distant lands, now flutter shamefully, tattered and worn, indicting the greed of shameless men. With cheers of fading greatness, true patriots were scorned; while demagogues were lifted aloft, and our ship of state was mourned."

So it is up to you, young people, to insure that it never happens again. We must never forget the horrors. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Bush-- today these names live in infamy, but remember, during their time, each of these men were looked upon as heroes by many. So remain vigilant, young people, because, though try we must, injustice, infamy, and greed can never be relegated to centuries past.

And with that, let us recite The Pledge:

I pledge allegiance not to a flag, but to a united state of justice;And to this republic, for which justice stands,As a monument to human dignity,And an unwavering compassion for man.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

I’ve mentioned in previous columns that Bush’s so-called “War on Terror” was nothing more than a sham designed to give him carte blanche to circumvent the United States Constitution. His true goal was to manipulate the law, and the American people, in order to keep himself and other Republicans in office and holding key positions in government. That not only gave him the opportunity to redistribute the wealth and enrich his cronies, but gave him the added benefit of ravaging the United States treasury and allowing the Republican Party to achieve their primary goal--a goal that they’ve been unable to achieve legislatively for over sixty years—the abolishment of the New Deal, by making it impossible to fund its social programs.

But in their short sightedness and greed, it seems that the Bush administration has allowed the chickens to come home to roost. In the Middle East, the situation in Iraq is rapidly degenerating into civil war, and the entire region threatens to become destabilized. Iran is hell-bent on developing nuclear armaments as it, along with Lebanon and Syria, have all but declared a formal state of war against Israel. In Asia, North Korea is thumbing its nose at America as it tests missiles with a capability of possibly reaching U.S. Cites. And here in America, after bringing up 9/11 in every speech and every opportunity for the past five years, the administration has abolished the very unit in the CIA whose sole purpose was to seek out Osama Bin Laden, while at the same time, illegally spying on American citizens here at home.

In addition, a former CIA operative, along with a former ambassador, has brought an unprecedented law suite against the Vice President of the United States and others, alleging that they leaked classified information during a time of war for political gain. Further, gas prices are soaring, expected to reach four dollars a gallon within the next three months, and illegal aliens are demonstrating in the streets by the millions, demanding “their right” to live in illegal comfort, while American citizens foot the bill and honor our responsibility to reward the flaunting of our laws. And while all of this is taking place, the Republican led congress is twiddling its thumbs and wallowing with impunity, in the sweet lap of corruption.

But the American people are finally beginning to realize that while our jobs are being shipped abroad, our citizens are unable to afford the cost of healthcare, and Bush claims that Social Security is going broke, the administration has spent $435 billion fighting the wrong war--and of that $435 billion, 9.5 billion is unaccounted for, while the Pentagon indicates that Halliburton (the company that was formerly headed by Vice President Cheney), overcharged the American people $1.4 billion. As a direct result, the Army has cancelled Halliburton’s multibillion dollar government contracts.

The American people are also beginning to recognize that what’s even more unconscionable than allowing Bush to rape our treasury is what we’ve allowed him to do to our young people and their families. To date, 2,540 young people have been killed in Iraq, and over 18,786 have been wounded. And of the wounded, 20 % have sustained serious brain or spinal cord injuries, so their lives, and the lives of their families, will never be the same. But the most telling figure in the number of dead and wound in Iraq is the fact that not one of the victims is the child of either a congressman, senator, or any member of the Bush administration (Don’t these people also have a responsibility to “defend our freedom”?).

So now the American people are up in arms. But it’s hard to feel sorry for America, because the American people have been arrogant, self-serving, and lazy minded. When we thought the war was just going to be an excursion into Iraq and only causing death and discomfort to the Iraqi people, we didn’t care. So instead of standing firm and vigilant in protection of our rights and the rights of others, we continued to party and abdicate our responsibility, assuming our way of life was assured. And instead of thinking, and acting for ourselves, we sat back and allowed others to think, act, and vote for us—assuming that those elected on our behalf would be competent, and have our best interest at heart.

Now we find ourselves on our knees, at the mercy of a corrupt administration, and scampering around trying to scrape up enough gas money to get to work—at least, those of us lucky enough to have a job. And now, this once proud nation that was once respected and envied as the leader of the free world, is the laughing stock of the world, and facing challenges that we may not have the resources to address.

So, has America learned its lesson? We’ll see in the November election.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

It’s scary how easily the American people can be manipulated to the point that they find the death of entire families a hoot; How we can sit in front of the tv set with chilli dogs and fries and cheer on the death of others like we’re watching the Super Bowl. And it’s a tribute to psychosis how America can unleash mass destruction in "an attempt to prevent mass destruction," in the name of God.

Can’t you see that many of "those Towel-Heads" are children just like your own? You didn’t really think the U.S. could unleash destruction like we saw and not kill children did you? Rumsfeld said, "Well, [shit] happens." But shit doesn’t just happen--you allowed it to happen. You made it happen. You cheered it on! Consider that as the children bleed and you're admiring the beauty of "Shock and Awe."

Think about your own children as "collateral damage." Think about them screaming in horror while you're helplessly watching their limbs being blown off. Think about them desperately reaching out to you for comfort as life slowly drains from their tiny bodies. Think about foreign boots kicking down your front door, and strangers walking through your home systematically killing every man, woman and child. Imagine the last sight you ever see on this Earth is of your loving child with her brains spilling from her tiny little head. Think about that picture, America--then ask yourself, who's really the terrorist?

Where has America gone? Who’s left to standup for justice and humanity? You say, God Bless America? You'd have to be a fool to think God is gonna bless America after what we’ve done--for choosing Standard Oil over Justice, and Exxon over God himself. In God we trust? How dare you blame this atrocity on God! It is in Bush you trust:

You trust Bush that God has entrusted you to blow off Iraqi arms and wrap them around you to enable them to embrace your benevolence. And you trust Bush that you must lovingly pluck out Iraqi eyes to enable them to see the wisdom of viewing the world through your own. And you trust Bush that in the name of all that is good you must slaughter their children in a desperate attempt to provide them with a better future. You also trust Bush that you must rape their land and steal their wealth in order to allow them to choose the government of their choosing-- (so long as they choose the government that Bush chooses for them to choose). And you trust Bush that you do all this in the name of American charity.

You also trust Bush that God will bless America--but this Ain’t America. America is the land of the free, and home of the brave, the land of just souls who freed their slaves. No, this is not America, this is Bushland–the land of small pox infected blankets; the land of public lynchings and church–place bombings; the land of imprisoned Japanese-Americans, and corporate murderers.

Yeah, God Bless Bushland! The land of the free and home of the slave; the land of My Lai, and Calley’s mass grave. And you trust that God will bless Bushland?

Thursday, July 06, 2006

ODE TO A CHICKEN HAWKOh, sweet patriot, square of jaw, and demeanor of great command, you fearlessly standin defense of America,and the savior of all God’s chosen men.Anointed by God as his personal envoy to all men, corrupt and blind,and charged with the swift and brutal destructionof all heathens of other kind.

You stand vigilant against all our enemies,both foreign and imagined within;You vigorously guard against all that is evil,and all that you see as sin.You define God’s needs and precious values,in the most unambiguous tones,and never once have you erred on behalf of truth,to reveal “God’s values” are indeed your own.

You lead our troops in fearless glory,challenging Death to “Bring it on!”Never thrusting your sword on the field of battle,you fearlessly lead the charge by phone.

Oh,sweet patriot, square of jaw,and demeanor of great command,how selfless your will to guard America,while hating the pillars upon which it stands.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

If your house was on fire, would you allow your child to perish in order to save his Birth Certificate? Of course not—only a fool would do that. But that’s exactly what a majority of our foolish congress was advocating in their proposed “Flag Burning” amendment to the Constitution. If they would have gotten their way, they would have corrupted our Constitution by taking away our right to free expression. They wanted to strip us of yet another right, in order to protect a piece of cloth whose only value is as a symbol of the very right that they wanted to take away. In other words, they wanted to sacrifice the child in order to protect its Birth Certificate—a mere affirmation, of the very life that they would have allowed to perish.

At best, that represents convoluted thinking, but it’s the kind of thinking that this conservative administration, and its rubber-stamp congress, must get the American people to embrace in order to advance its malevolent agenda. They specialize in appealing to our emotions. That’s the way that conservative Republicans circumvent our common sense, and get Americans to vote against their own best interest. It’s a tried and true marketing ploy: Never mind that that shiny new Escalade costs as much as a house, and only gets 2 miles to the gallon, just show the owner driving down the street, with his neighbors looking on in envy, and America will beat a path to your door. So, the very success of these people is dependant on America’s ignorance.

That’s the source of most of our problems here in America—politicians that appeal to the worse in our nature, and an electorate that has become so blind that we don’t even recognize when we’re being manipulated like fools. It’s gotten so bad that every time I see a politician looking solemnly into the camera, and spewing his disingenuous nonsense, it makes me want to throw up.

We currently have elderly people in this country who have to choose between eating and buying the drugs that they have to have to sustain they’re lives. We have people who have to pay a day and a half’s wages just to buy enough gas to get them to work for a week. We’re involved in a senseless war with no end in the foreseeable future, that’s draining our economy and killing both American and Iraqi children. We’re sustaining a budget deficit, and the exhaustion of our military, that threatens our ability to defend our shores. And most frightening all, we have a president who seems to have absolutely no understanding of limits, or an appreciation of the United States Constitution, and yet, our congress is hard at work, wasting time, debating the burning of a piece of cloth.

Senate Majority Leader Frist, again, looking solemnly into the camera, indicated that one of the reasons that the flag burning amendment should be passed was that it was unconscionable that people would be burning the very symbol that our troops are dying for in Iraq. That is pure, unadulterated, nonsense. First, our troops are not dying in Iraq for the flag--our troops are dying because they entered the military in the hope of finding a better life, then an irresponsible president saw fit to send them to a place that they never should have gone, to fight in a war that never should have taken place. That’s why they're dying. And even those who did go into the military to fight for the “American cause”, they’re not fighting for the flag, they’re fighting for what the flag represents—American ideals—those very same ideals that this administration is corrupting.

For once, let us look at this moment with clarity. The Republican majority in congress doesn’t give a damn about the burning of the American flag—what they wanted was to ignite a constitutional debate across this country that would have been in full gear and raging just in time for the November elections. That way, the debate would have stirred the emotions of their mindless, conservative base, and also served as a distraction that would prevent the American people from thinking about the Republican corruption in congress, and their corporate giveaways that has ravaged our treasury, and the lies that they told that’s causing our children to die in Iraq so that Bush, Cheney, and their cronies can add zeros to their bank accounts. That, is what the flag burning amendment is truly about.

No, they don’t care about the burning of the American flag, and neither do they care about the ideals that our flag represents—if they did, you wouldn’t have to wonder whether they’re listening to your conversations, with your ailing, and medication deprived mother.

Society Of Professional Journalists

Eric L. Wattree

Strive To Become Your Own Hero... Then Let No One Remove Your Cape.

BIO

Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles. He’s been a columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel, Black Star News, The Atlanta Post, and is a member of the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/). He’s also the author of "A Message From the Hood."Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.Eric L. Wattreehttp://www.whohub.com/wattree

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The Hater

Am I a hater, you ask? You're damn right I'm a hater. I hate injustice. I hate hypocrisy. I also hate demagoguery, apathy, and the stupidity that allows it to exist. Hater? Absolutely. I'm a big time hater. I hate what I see happening to this country, and I hate watching the development of a culture that embraces ignorance with a stupid sense of pride. So yes, I am indeed a hater, but not only that - I'm a hater with a very low threshold for bullshit, so step off.